Recap of the 1999-2000 NBA Basketball Season

The '99 - '00 season was all about the big guy.

Shaquille O' Neal was completely healthy for the first time in
almost four seasons. Phil Jackson, six-time champion in Chicago,
brought his prestigious triangle offense to the Los Angeles Lakers
and made Shaq the focal point. O'Neal responded by leading the league
in both scoring and field goal percentages; he was also second in
rebounds, and third in blocked shots. On March 6, Shaq celebrated
his 28th birthday by shearing the Clippers for 61 points; he also
led the Lakers on winning streaks of 19, 16 and 11 games - the first
of which being the fourth-longest streak in NBA history.

His teammate, All-Star guard Kobe Bryant, in his fourth season,
also showed his winning colors by posting career-highs in scoring,
rebounds, assists, steals and shooting percentage, but it was Shaq
who dominated the league, almost becoming the first unanimous player
to be voted regular-season MVP (he was only one vote short of unanimous.)

Michael Jordan returned to the NBA as President of Basketball Operations
for the Washington Wizards, while future Hall of Famer Charles Barkley
retired; it seemed his 16-year career was over early when he ruptured
the quadriceps tendon in his left knee, during a game against the
Philadelphia 76ers - but he returned for six minutes and scored
two points in the Houston Rockets' last regular-season game.

During the season the NBA mourned the passing of three valued basketball
personalities. Wilt Chamberlain, the Hall of Fame center, died at
the age of 63, and two active players, Bobby Phills and Malik Sealy,
died four months apart in separate auto accidents.

It is interesting to note that Los Angeles hosted both the best
and the worst record, and those two teams finished with reversed
winning percentages: the Lakers had a record of 67 - 15, while the
last-place Clippers ended the season at 15 - 67.

The '00 All-Star game was held in Oakland, California, where the
Western Conference defeated the East, 137 - 126. Shaquille O'Neal
and Tim Duncan, the latter being from the San Antonio Spurs, shared
the game's MVP award.

After being eliminated in the Eastern Conference Finals four times
in the previous six seasons, the Indiana Pacers finally advanced
to the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history. A key
reason for this was the performance of Jalen Rose, who was named
this season's Most Improved Player.

Shaq continued to put up big numbers into the playoffs, averaging
38 points and almost 17 rebounds per game in the Finals. He was
awarded the Finals MVP trophy.

With less than eleven minutes to go in Game 7 of the Western Conference
Finals, the Trail Blazers led the Lakers by 15 points. However,
in the final minutes of the game, Portland missed thirteen straight
baskets, and the Lakers came back to win by 5 points.

Other honors included the Defensive Player of the Year award, given
to Alonzo Mourning of the Miami Heat, and the Sixth Man of the Year
award, presented to Rodney Rogers of the Phoenix Suns. Doc Rivers,
of the Orlando Magic, was named Coach of the Year; Elton Brand from
the Chicago Bulls and Steve Francis of the Houston Rockets were
both honored as Co-Rookies of the Year.

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